7 Changes That Have Saved Us Over $1,000

7 Changes That Have
Saved Us Over $1,000

It is now halfway through the year, and one of our resolutions was to save money that we did not need to spend. Here’s how I’ve saved in 2018:

I changed banks. I went from $17/month for a chequing account with a traditional bank, and have now switched over to a credit union. While getting the same benefits, plus some extras, I have saved $119.00 to date.

My new chequing account comes with free cheques. Yes, I still use cheques for things like rent and service providers. I probably write 2-3 a month, depending on the month. Savings for not paying for cheques: approximately $65 – and since I’ve ordered cheques twice in the last year, the savings has doubled to $130.00.

Much like many others, I called my cable provider, who also provides me with internet. I explained that we do not watch tv (we prefer Netflix or the internet), and requested to cancel our service for cable tv. In turn, they provided us with a promotion that allowed us to keep the cable tv (which we still do not watch) for a year, free of charge, while bundled with our internet. Savings: approximately $35/month, which is $245.00 to date.

Utilities: we have been much more mindful of using less hydro and gas. We shut lights off when we are not in the room, we disconnect chargers not in use, and we do our laundry at off-times for better hydro rates. (We have not done less laundry, as a result, but the savings of off-hours is much better.) We do not have central air, so we purchased a large air conditioner with power saver modes. Our bill for the month of July was the lowest it’s been all year. Savings: approximately $50 to date.

Gas: We have two cars because we work in opposite ends of the region. This year, my partner’s car turned 19 years old (no, it was not a Toyota!) and was near its life span. For 350,000 kms, we can’t complain. So, we retired our old Cavalier, and my partner took over my 8 year old SUV, and I purchased a brand new hatch. Now, there’s some argument to buying brand new, but my financing is at 0%, and the car uses a third less gas than my SUV. Savings over the last three months: approximately $120.00.

Insurance: By combining our two cars into one insurance policy, we actually saved quite a bit. My partner has been driving for … well, he’ll say forever… but let’s say 25 years, and I’m about half that. Put those together with my SUV and new car, and we are saving about $50 a month on insurance. Over the last three months, that would be $150.00.

Mylo: a savings app that rounds up to the dollar each transaction that goes through my bank account and credit cards, and transfers the change to an investment account. Savings so far: $190.42.

Phew! We’ve saved $1,004.42 over the last year just by making these simple changes. That’s over a thousand dollars to have more fun with! We’ve paid down some debts, invested some money, and took an early vacation with all of our savings.

While lots of these ideas have been around for a long time, they still work. Which ones do you do? How have you saved money this year?

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1 thought on “7 Changes That Have Saved Us Over $1,000”

All of the items listed above are so simple but they take time and energy to accomplish. Most people would rather pay instead of taking the time to lower their bills or do the research. Thank you for the tips.